Primary campaigns are in full swing all across Illinois, and the 43rd Ward office is in the heart of it. We are sharing space with the Chicago Republican Party over the McDonald's at Fullerton and Halsted. Stop by any time. 2402 N Lincoln Ave.

Much has happened in the 43rd Ward over the last few months, and I've been remiss in updating this page. Here are the highlights:

We've opened a new office over the McDonald's at Lincoln/Halsted/Fullerton. It's a joint 43rd Ward / Chicago Republican Party office. 2402 N Lincoln Ave. Stop by any time during business hours. We'll be having a grand opening soon.

Back in May I was elected Chairman of the Chicago Republican Party. It's been an extremely busy time recruiting candidates and raising funds. We're currently recruiting in dozens of districts across the city.

It's traditional for a ward organization to publish a palm card with our picks in the municipal election. Here goes:

For Mayor:

Rahm Emanuel

NO

Chuy Garcia

NO

Bob Fioretti

NO

Willie Wilson

NO

"Doc" Walls

NO

For Alderman:

Michele Smith

NO

Caroline Vickrey

NO

Jen Kramer

NO

Jerry Quandt

NO

Ballot initiative #1

NO

Ballot initiative #2

NO

Ballot initiative #3

NO

Feel free to print this card out and bring it with you to the voting booth.

Nine Democrats and three cockamamie ballot initiatives. Yes, tomorrow will be a delightful day at the polling place.

* * *

But those of you who are fair minded, sophisticated Republicans may want a more nuanced view. Here are some thoughts for your consideration.

Rahm Emanuel is Barack Obama's former chief of staff, and everything he is, does, and thinks reflects that fact. He is fully a product of a deeply liberal, deeply corrupt Chicago political culture. It's hard to imagine a worse choice. Chuy Garcia and Bob Fioretti each have vivid imaginations, however, and have managed it. They both imagine a world even more detached from fiscal reality. The only candidate in the race who has expressed remotely conservative views is Willie Wilson. If you are able to vote for a Democrat (I can't), then vote for Willie and force Rahm into a runoff.

If there is a mayoral runoff, it may force Rahm to appeal to the 20% of the city that votes Republican. Maybe he'll get better on some of our issues.

In the 43rd Ward, we have similarly inadequate choices. I wrote about this a couple of weeks ago, reprinted here:

Michele Smith, incumbent. Alderman Smith would not have drawn such opposition had she been doing a good job. She has botched the Children's development, voted in lock step with the Mayor, and irritated just about everyone. To her credit, in her Tribune questionnaire she talks about controlling spending, and in city council she voted against the minimum wage increase. But on TIFs, pensions, and vacant storefronts, she hasn't the remotest clue. No.

Jen Kramer is an affable person, but her career has been straight machine Democrat. The Daley administration moved her from job to job over the years, and she shows no inclination to buck the system. Her Tribune questionnaire answers are devoid of substance. She would sink into the group of 40-odd rubber-stamp Alderman and never surface again. No.

Jerry Quandt is similarly affable. But when I asked him how we would tackle the city's financial problems, he said "The corporations that want to locate here should pay their fair share." In a DNAinfo article, he said "It's going to take solutions that probably will entail increasing taxes in some form or fashion." He describes himself as center-right, but not with positions like that. No.

Caroline Vickrey is a community organizer. But unlike Barack Obama, her positions have had actual responsibilities. Her policy positions are a mixed bag. She gets it on cutting spending and the need for defined-contribution pensions. She's good on corruption. Her position on TIFs is, ah, evolving. She doesn't get it on charter schools. Her position on taxes is murky: "I do not think that Chicagoans can tolerate any increases to property taxes," but "...new sources of revenue should be explored." Caroline is not a Republican and isn't with us on some important issues. Her willingness to take steps to get spending under control and oppose the machine, though, speaks well of her. Maybe.

So, if you're able to vote for a Democrat (I can't), vote for Caroline and force Michele into a runoff.

Our best option on this sad day is force runoffs, which will push the frontrunners to make concessions to Republicans if they want their votes. We may not be able to get the candidates we want, but we may be able to get some of the policies we want.

Like not having a 60% property tax increase to pay for the pension mess.

There's an Aldermanic debate tonight. It's at DePaul. Four Democrats will argue that they have what it takes to fix the city's problems.

Spoiler alert: They don't.

But that does not absolve us of the responsibility to pick one of them. Here are the choices:

Michele Smith, incumbent. Alderman Smith would not have drawn such opposition had she been doing a good job. She has botched the Children's development, voted in lock step with the Mayor, and irritated just about everyone. To her credit, in her Tribune questionnaire she talks about controlling spending, and in city council she voted against the minimum wage increase. But on TIFs, pensions, and vacant storefronts, she hasn't the remotest clue. No.

Jen Kramer is an affable person, but her career has been straight machine Democrat. The Daley administration moved her from job to job over the years, and she shows no inclination to buck the system. Her Tribune questionnaire answers are devoid of substance. She would sink into the group of 40-odd rubber-stamp Alderman and never surface again. No.

Jerry Quandt is similarly affable. But when I asked him how we would tackle the city's financial problems, he said "The corporations that want to locate here should pay their fair share." In a DNAinfo article, he said "It's going to take solutions that probably will entail increasing taxes in some form or fashion." He describes himself as center-right, but not with positions like that. No.

Caroline Vickrey is a community organizer. But unlike Barack Obama, her positions have had actual responsibilities. Her policy positions are a mixed bag. She gets it on cutting spending and the need for defined-contribution pensions. She's good on corruption. She doesn't get it on TIFs or charter schools. Her position on taxes is murky: "I do not think that Chicagoans can tolerate any increases to property taxes," but "...new sources of revenue should be explored." Caroline is not a Republican and isn't with us on some important issues. Her willingness to take steps to get spending under control and oppose the machine, though, speaks well of her. Maybe.

* * * Does your opinion, as a Republican, matter?

In the last election, Bruce Rauner won 50% of the ward, and Tom Cross and Judy Baar Topinka both won 45%.

More than that, the candidates we recruited this year did well in the ward:

With a vote share that large, and four Democrats to split the Democrat vote, guess who decides who the Alderman will be? That's right: we do. Republicans.

I urge you to attend tonight's aldermanic debate (or the candidate's night at Old Town Triangle on Thursday at 7:00 pm) and decide for yourself. Ask hard questions about our issues: spending, taxes, pensions, and corruption. And let the candidates know that they'd better listen to Republicans in the ward if they want to win the election.

What happened to the Republican ward office?

The Chicago GOP decided to join the Rauner campaign at a new office in the 45th Ward at 4327 W. Irving Park Road. We packed up and moved a couple of weeks ago. We'd still like to have an office in the 43rd Ward, though, so if you know of an inexpensive space we can call our own, please let us know.

How can I help this fall?

There are three things you can do:

Be an election judge. We still have a number of slots to fill. It pays $170 for the day.

Be a precinct captain or volunteer.

Write a check to the 43rd Ward Republicans. Every dollar helps to pay for mailings and our future office.

What about the Aldermanic election?

So far, there are four likely candidates for Alderman, none of whom are Republicans. Republicans get 40% of the ward, and with a little effort we can get 51%. We're still looking for a Republican candidate. If you've considered running for office, now's the time to step up. Let us know.

I hadn't planned to endorse in the governor's race. As a Republican Party worker bee, I'm supposed to support the nominee, right? That's my job?

And indeed, I will support the nominee, whoever it is.

But now, a week before the election, it looks like the Democrats and the unions are making a serious play to hijack the Republican primary. This isn't right. It's time to say something.

Government unions are pouring millions into Kirk Dillard's campaign. Whatever his merits as a candidate, this isn't something that we Republicans should ignore. Govenment unions, including AFSCME and the teacher's unions, have spent such enormous sums that Dillard cannot ever be in a position to stand up to them. And standing up to the unions is the single most important thing the next governor must do.

Bruce Rauner has made standing up to government unions the centerpiece of his campaign. He'll follow through on it. And that, in my opinion, makes him the right choice for governor.

I like Bill Brady, really I do. But now, a week out, neither he nor Dan Rutherford are serious contenders for the nomination. It's time to make a choice, Rauner or Dillard. It's an easy one.

If Bruce wins this election, then we Republicans will have a mandate, a very big one, to take on the unions. We can go after them on the pension problem they created. We can go after them on failing schools. We can go after them on wild overspending. We can go after them on corruption.

Imagine having a mandate, here in Illinois, to do what Scott Walker did in Wisconsin. Bruce will have it.

If you go a different way, I respect your decision. But please do so in the full knowledge that most of what you're seeing on TV was paid for government employees who want to purchase the election. Please don't let them do that. Bruce Rauner is our best hope for turning the state around.

Paul Schimpf served our country for 24 years while on active duty in the Navy and the Marine Corps. During that time, Paul learned how to work together with people of all backgrounds and political perspectives to meet common goals. Now that his military service is complete, Paul Schimpf wants to continue serving Illinois as our next Attorney General.

Paul is running for Attorney General because he has become increasingly frustrated by the failure of our political class to address the problems facing our state. Despite those frustrations, Paul still believes we can solve our problems by bringing humility, honesty, and an unbiased perspective to the table.

Tom Cross is a reform-minded, independent thinking Republican Leader who has earned praise for his commitment to lower taxes, reducing government’s footprint and demonstrating fiscal responsibility.

"I’m running for Treasurer because I want to restore trust, protect taxpayers and make a real, serious difference,” Cross says on his website.

As treasurer, Tom will use the full power of the office to require the state to approve a balanced budget. To protect the college savings of Illinois families, Tom will institute quarterly audits of the Bright Start College Savings program to ensure funds are being invested wisely and safely. And continuing his commitment to reform, Tom will establish a Government Integrity Unit to ensure transparency and crack down on fraud and corruption.

So this Saturday we're going to learn about the details of the development, the pros and cons, from one of its leading opponents, Ed Burnes. We'll talk about what it means for the neighborhood, rule of law, property rights, and other Republican political principles with which this alderman appears to be unfamiliar.